A021
Surah: 005 - Ayah: 021
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5:12
al-Arz al-muqaddasah (Holy land/earth)
It is said in verse (5:21): "(Musa said:) O my people! Enter the holy land which Allah has assigned to you." By this land is meant the personal world which can be conquered by absolute obedience to the Imam of the time and through spiritual jihad.
Q. What is the ta’wil of "the holy land" mentioned in verse (5:21)? If it was ordained for the children of Israel by God, then why could they not enter it?
A. The ta’wil of the holy land is spirituality and the personal world which God has ordained for the faithful and for every believer. But every mercy and bounty is first potential and in order to actualise it requires knowledge and action, for it cannot otherwise come about. An example of this is in the seeds of wheat which are grain and capital for the farmer potentially. Now tell me whose work is it to plough the field, sow the seeds etc., that of God or that of the farmer, so that they may be transformed into a heap of grain? Obviously, God Who is Wise, does His work but does not do the external or physical work. He has bestowed upon mankind countless capabilities of physical, spiritual and intellectual work. Thus, felicity is hidden in knowledge and action.
This verse has been referred 3 times.